On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 16:38:12 +1100, Bruce Maguire
wrote:

I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Heh. Bengals and Maine Coons are *entirely* different.

Personality :

Bengals are confident, affectionate cats. However, they are blurs of
energy and not lap cats until they have tired themselves out. Then
they want to crawl into your lap and cuddle, but not a moment before.

Maine Coons are love sacks. They are much more lap cattish than
Bengals.


Grooming:

Bengals have short, tight, plush single coats. They shed very little
(though they *do* shed) and don't require much more in the way of
grooming than a 'polishing' with a sisal glove occasionally. Bengals
have what are called 'pelted' coats, and they're totally different
from anything you have felt before.

Maine Coons have long, heavy, profuse double coats. They *must* be
brushed *and* combed at least every other day, preferably daily.
Since Maine Coons have the more normal double coat, they shed
undercoat pretty normally, which is what generally causes most
matting.


Ca

Bengals and Maine Coons need the same sort of dietary care --
high-quality cat food. Both do extremely well on a raw diet, or with
raw treats supplementing their food. Canned food is best. Bengals
tend to highly prefer running water to drink (and play in).


Health:

HCM has shown up in a few lines of Bengals, so any breeder you buy
from should test their cats (and have the printed results to show
you).

Maine Coons should be tested for PKD, HCM, and Feline Hip Dysplasia.
Again, breeders should have the printed test results.

Note that breeding cats should be tested yearly for HCM, as the test
is simply a colour doppler echocardiogram and thus gives a snapshot of
the cat's current state. If the results are more than two years old,
they're worthless.


Habits:

Bengals are the Border Collie of the cat world. Extremely
intelligent, extremely active, and *definitely* not for everyone.
They have enormous energy levels. Having a single Bengal is a Bad
Idea. They need the mental stimulation and energy sink of a friend --
either another Bengal, another high-energy breed (Aby, Siamese, etc),
or a high-energy moggy. There is no shelf a Bengal can't find a way
to -- a 16-week old Bengal can jump from the floor to the top of a
refrigerator. My Bengals can open baby locks, lever-style door
handles, and are mastering the round doorknob. They are into
everything, and must be part of what you are doing, whether that be
cleaning, making beds, doing laundry, or cooking. They are greedy,
food-motivated kitties, whcih makes clicker-training a Very Good Idea
for this breed.



Do a Google Groups Search for "Orchid Top Ten Bengal" and read my Top
Ten Reasons You Don't Want A Bengal. If you still want one, I highly
recommend joining the Yahoo Group 'Bengals-L' -- you'll be able to
hook up with many of the most responsible breeders working in the
breed today.

No matter which breed you decide on, read my 'Guide to Finding a
Responsible Breeder' -- the link is in my sig. Follow the directions.
There are a *lot* of BYBs producing both Bengals and Maine Coons, and
buying from a BYB is the ticket to getting a poor example of either
breed, in health, temperament, conformation, and everything else.




Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid